March 19 (Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks fell, with the
regional gauge retreating after yesterday posting its biggest
advance in almost two weeks, as investors weighed company
earnings and awaited the Federal Reserve’s policy statement.

Uni-President China Holdings Ltd. slumped 7.9 percent in
Hong Kong after the instant-noodle maker’s 2013 profit missed
analyst projections. Country Garden Holdings Co. slumped by most
since November 2008 after the Chinese developer’s chief
financial officer resigned. Kingsoft Corp. jumped 8.7 percent to
a record close after the computer-software maker posted earnings
that beat estimates. Fanuc Corp. rose 3.2 percent in Tokyo after
Credit Suisse Group AG said it’s a good time to buy the
industrial-robot manufacturer’s shares.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index lost 0.2 percent to 134.73 as
of 4:49 p.m. in Hong Kong, after falling and rising as much as
0.4 percent earlier. The U.S. and Europe pledged more sanctions
against Russia while President Vladimir Putin, pushing to annex
Crimea, said his country didn’t intend to further split Ukraine.
The Federal Open Market Committee will end a two-day policy
meeting today, after data yesterday indicated the U.S. home-building industry is stabilizing.

“Investors still remain highly cautious,” Matthew
Sherwood, who helps manage about $25 billion as the Sydney-based
head of investment markets research at Perpetual Ltd., said by
phone. “Risk assets have recovered most of their lost ground
since the Ukraine crisis was sparked a few weeks ago but there’s
still a lot of volatility. The Fed will probably water down
their forward guidance and keep U.S. interest rates low for at
least another 18 months.”

Stimulus Outlook

The Fed will press on with cuts to its asset-purchase
program and switch to qualitative guidance for assessing
interest rates, according to economists surveyed by Bloomberg.
The FOMC will further scale back its bond-buying at the meeting,
reducing purchases for the third time by $10 billion to a $55
billion monthly rate, according to the survey done March 14-17.

China’s Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.2 percent,
declining for the first time in three days, as the yuan weakened
to near an 11-month low and money-market rates rose.

“We are still seeking a bottom for the market,” Zhang
Yanbing, an analyst at Zheshang Securities Co., said in
Shanghai. “The economy is not doing well and it’s being
exacerbated by property debt problems. Yuan depreciation is
adding to the negative sentiment.”

Japan Display

Japan’s Topix index fell 0.1 percent, having swung between
a loss of 0.8 percent and a gain of 1.3 percent. Japan Display
Inc. tumbled 15 percent to 763 yen on its first trading day in
Tokyo after the supplier of screens for Apple Inc. devices
raised 318.5 billion yen ($3.1 billion) through an initial
public offering.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index slipped 4.5 percent this year
through yesterday, when shares on the gauge traded at 12.7 times
estimated earnings. That compares with a multiple of 15.9 for
the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index and 14.3 for the Stoxx Europe
600 Index.

Futures on the S&P 500 were little changed today. The U.S.
benchmark index climbed 0.7 percent yesterday as housing data
bolstered confidence in the economy.

A Commerce Department report showed housing starts were
little changed in February after declining less than previously
estimated a month earlier, indicating the home-building industry
is stabilizing after bad winter weather curbed construction.
Permits filed for future projects increased 7.7 percent to a
1.02 million pace in February, the most since October.

Ukraine Standoff

Russia cemented its claim to Crimea as Putin showed no sign
of backing down in the standoff over Ukraine’s breakaway Black
Sea region, prompting Western leaders to vow further sanctions
this week.

Leaders of Poland and Estonia, two of the countries on the
front line of turmoil in Ukraine, told U.S. Vice President Joe
Biden they want a more aggressive stance toward Russia. Biden is
on a two-day trip to the region aimed at assuring North Atlantic
Treaty Organization allies that the U.S. will support them
against any attempt by Russia to encroach on their territory.

Uni-President China sank 7.9 percent to HK$7.24 after
reporting full-year net income of 916.4 million yuan ($148
million), missing the average estimate of 966.8 million yuan by
analysts tracked by Bloomberg.

Country Garden tumbled 12 percent to HK$2.85, the lowest
close since September 2012, after saying CFO Estella Ng will
resign April 30 for personal reasons.

Among shares that rose, Kingsoft jumped 8.7 percent to a
record close of HK$30.70. Chief Executive Officer Zhang
Hongjiang said on Bloomberg Television that the company is
loking for acquisitions after reporting full-year profit of
670.7 million yuan. That compares with 432.6 million yuan a year
ago and the average estimate of 630.4 million yuan by nine
analysts tracked by Bloomberg.